Systems and methods for processing objects including transport vehicles

ABSTRACT

A storage, retrieval and processing system for processing objects is disclosed. The storage, retrieval and processing system includes a storage bin system for receiving at a first end thereof, a plurality of storage bins providing storage of a plurality of objects, a retrieval conveyance system at a second end of the storage bin system that is generally opposite the first end of the storage bin system, where the retrieval conveyance system is in communication with the plurality of storage bins, a programmable motion device in communication with the retrieval conveyance system for receiving the storage bins from the plurality of storage bins, where the programmable motion device includes an end effector for grasping and moving a selected object out of a selected storage bin, and a destination bin system for receiving the selected object from the end effector of the programmable motion device at first end of the destination bin system, and the destination bin system provides access to the plurality of destination bins at a second end thereof that is generally opposite the first end of the destination bin system.

PRIORITY

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 17/094,792, filed Nov. 10, 2020, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/926,767, filed Mar. 20, 2018, nowU.S. Pat. No. 10,894,674, issued Jan. 19, 2021, which claims priority toU.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/473,825 filed Mar. 20,2017, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference intheir entireties.

BACKGROUND

The invention generally relates to storage and retrieval systems, andrelates in particular to automated storage and retrieval systems thatare used with systems for processing objects.

Automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) generally includecomputer-controlled systems for automatically storing (placing) andretrieving items from defined storage locations. Traditional AS/RStypically employ totes (or bins), which are the smallest unit of loadfor the system. In these systems, the totes are brought to people whopick individual items out of the totes. When a person has picked therequired number of items out of the tote, the tote is then re-inductedback into the AS/RS.

In these traditional systems, the totes are brought to a person, and theperson may either remove an item from the tote or add an item to thetote. The tote is then returned to the storage location. Such systems,for example, may be used in libraries and warehouse storage facilities.The AS/RS involves no processing of the items in the tote, as a personprocesses the objects when the tote is brought to the person. Thisseparation of jobs allows any automated transport system to do what itis good at—moving totes—and the person to do what the person is betterat—picking items out of cluttered totes. It also means the person maystand in one place while the transport system brings the person totes,which increases the rate at which the person can pick goods.

There are limits however, on such conventional systems in terms of thetime and resources required to move totes toward and then away from eachperson, as well as how quickly a person can process totes in thisfashion in applications where each person may be required to process alarge number of totes. There remains a need therefore, for an AS/RS thatstores and retrieves objects more efficiently and cost effectively, yetalso assists in the processing of a wide variety of objects. There isfurther a need for a more efficient system for processing andtransporting processed objects.

SUMMARY

In accordance with an embodiment, the invention provides a storage,retrieval and processing system for processing objects. The storage,retrieval and processing system includes a storage bin system forreceiving at a first end thereof, a plurality of storage bins providingstorage of a plurality of objects, a retrieval conveyance system at asecond end of the storage bin system that is generally opposite thefirst end of the storage bin system, where the retrieval conveyancesystem is in communication with the plurality of storage bins, aprogrammable motion device in communication with the retrievalconveyance system for receiving the storage bins from the plurality ofstorage bins, where the programmable motion device includes an endeffector for grasping and moving a selected object out of a selectedstorage bin, and a destination bin system for receiving the selectedobject from the end effector of the programmable motion device at firstend of the destination bin system, and the destination bin systemprovides access to the plurality of destination bins at a second endthereof that is generally opposite the first end of the destination binsystem.

In accordance with another embodiment, the invention provides a storage,retrieval and processing system for processing objects. The storage,retrieval and processing system includes a storage bin system forreceiving from a vehicle at a first end of the storage bin system, aplurality of storage bins providing storage of a plurality of objects, aretrieval conveyance system at a second end of the storage bin systemthat is generally opposite the first end of the storage bin system, saidretrieval conveyance system being in communication with the plurality ofstorage bins, a programmable motion device in communication with theretrieval conveyance system for receiving the storage bins from theplurality of storage bins, said programmable motion device moving aselected object out of a selected storage bin, and a destination binsystem for receiving the selected object from the end effector of theprogrammable motion device at first end of the destination bin system,and where the destination bin system provides access to the plurality ofdestination bins at a second end thereof for another vehicle that isgenerally opposite the first end of the destination bin system.

In accordance with a further embodiment, the invention provides a methodof providing storage, retrieval and processing of objects. The methodincludes the steps of receiving at a first end of a storage bins system,a plurality of storage bins providing storage of a plurality of objects,retrieving a selected storage bin from the storage bin system, graspingand moving a selected object out of the selected storage bin and towarda first end of a destination bin system, and moving the selected objectto a designated destination bin of a plurality of destination binsprovided in the destination bin system, said destination bin systemproviding access to the plurality of destination bins at a second endthereof that is generally opposite the first end of the destination binsystem.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following description may be further understood with reference tothe accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of a storage, retrievaland processing system in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of a storage bin systemof FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of portion of the storagebin system of FIG. 2 ;

FIGS. 4A and 4B show illustrative diagrammatic views of embodiments of abin displacement system for use in a retrieval conveyance system of theinvention;

FIG. 5 shows an illustrative diagrammatic exploded view of a boxassembly for use as a storage bin or destination bin in accordance withvarious embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of the assembled box trayassembly of FIG. 5 ;

FIG. 7A-7D show illustrative diagrammatic views of a further embodimentof a bin displacement system for use in further embodiments of theinvention;

FIG. 8 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of storage bin processingalong a portion of a single level in a system in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of storage bin processingalong multiple levels in a system in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 10 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of a portion of aprocessing station in a system in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 11 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view from the perceptionsystem of FIG. 10 , showing a view of objects within a bin of objects tobe processed;

FIGS. 12A and 12B show an illustrative diagrammatic view of a graspselection process in a storage, retrieval and processing system of anembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 13A and 13B show an illustrative diagrammatic view of a graspplanning process in a storage, retrieval and processing system of anembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 14A and 14B show an illustrative diagrammatic view of a graspexecution process in a storage, retrieval and processing system of anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of a destination binprocessing station in a system in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 16 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of a processing sectionin a storage, retrieval and processing system in accordance with anembodiment of the invention wherein an object is placed in a carriage;

FIG. 17 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of the processingsection of FIG. 16 with the carriage having been moved along its track;

FIG. 18 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of the processingsection of FIG. 16 with the carriage having transferred its load to adestination bin;

FIGS. 19A and 19B show illustrative diagrammatic views of a bin removalmechanism for use in a storage, retrieval and processing system inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 20 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of the processingsection of FIG. 16 with the carriage having returned to its base, and aremoved destination bin being moved urged from its location;

FIG. 21 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of the processingsection of FIG. 16 with the removed destination bin being moved along anoutput conveyor;

FIG. 22 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of a vehicle containingstorage bins to be transferred to a storage bin system in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 23 shows an illustrative diagrammatic enlarged view of a portion ofthe system of FIG. 22 ;

FIG. 24 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of a vehicle loadingstorage bins into a storage bin system in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 25 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of a vehicle loadingdestination bins from a destination bin system in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 26A and 26B show illustrative diagrammatic top and side views ofadapter systems that may be employed in the systems of FIGS. 24 and 25 ;and

FIG. 27 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of a plurality ofvehicles providing storage bins to, and a plurality of destination binsreceiving destination bins from, a system in accordance with a furtherembodiment of the invention.

The drawings are for illustrative purposed only.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In accordance with an embodiment, the invention provides a storage,retrieval and processing system for processing objects that includes astorage bin system, a retrieval system, a programmable motion device,and a destination bin system. The storage bin system is for receiving ata first end thereof, a plurality of storage bins providing storage of aplurality of objects. The retrieval conveyance system is at a second endof the storage bin system that is generally opposite the first end ofthe storage bin system, and the retrieval conveyance system is incommunication with the plurality of storage bins. The programmablemotion device is in communication with the retrieval conveyance systemfor receiving the storage bins from the plurality of storage bins, andthe programmable motion device includes an end effector for grasping andmoving a selected object out of a selected storage bin. The destinationbin system is for receiving the selected object from the end effector ofthe programmable motion device at first end of the destination binsystem, and the destination bin system provides access to the pluralityof destination bins at a second end thereof that is generally oppositethe first end of the destination bin system.

In an embodiment, the invention provides a system by which vehicles suchas trucks, may back up to a bin unloading system, unload the bins into astorage section, process the bins using the automated storage, retrievaland processing system of the invention, and load processed binsautomatically into vehicles such as trucks for transport. With referenceto FIG. 1 , an automated storage, retrieval and processing system 10 inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention includes astorage system 12 at which a plurality of storage bins 14 are providedfrom a vehicle (as discussed further below), a processing system 16 thatincludes a programmable motion device 18, and a destination system 20that includes destination bins 22 that may be loaded onto a vehicle (asdiscussed further below). Generally, storage bins 14 are unloaded fromvehicles, and are selectively provided to and from the processing system16, where objects are moved from a selected storage bin and placed ordropped by the programmable motion device 18 into a primary carriagesystem 24 (that moves vertically and horizontally as discussed furtherbelow). From the primary carriage system 24, objects are delivered toone of a plurality of secondary carriage systems (that run horizontallyalong the length of the destination system 20), which bring objects todestination bins 22 of the destination system 20, and from where thedestination bins may be loaded onto vehicles.

In particular, and with reference to FIG. 2 , the storage system 12includes a plurality of storage sections 24, each of which includes aplurality of storage bins 14 on a pair of infeed conveyors 26. Eachinfeed conveyor 26 is biased (e.g., by gravity) to cause each of thestorage bins 14 to be urged away from an input end 28 and toward aprocessing end 30 of the storage section 24 as shown in FIG. 3 .Further, each of the storage bins 14 includes unique identificationindicia (e.g., a barcode) that is detected by storage perception devices34 as the bins are delivered onto the infeed conveyors 26. The storagesystem 12 knows the size of each storage bin 14, and therefore knowswhere each bin is located as well as the identity (and therefore thecontents) of each storage bin.

Each storage section also includes a pair of retrieval conveyors 36 thatare provided adjacent to the storage bins, and as further shown withreference to FIGS. 4A and 4B, when a storage bin 14 is selected forretrieval, a bin removal mechanism 39 travels along a guide rail 38between the bins 14, and stops adjacent to the selected storage bin asshown in FIG. 4A. With reference to FIG. 4B, the system will then movean urging mechanism 40 of the mechanism 39 to push the selected bin ontoa retrieval conveyor 36. The conveyor 36 (as well as the other conveyorsin the processing system) may be motion controlled so that both thespeed and the direction of the conveyor (e.g., rollers or belt) may becontrolled. In certain embodiments, certain of the conveyors (e.g.,conveyors leading from the storage station 12 to the processing station16) may be gravity biased to cause any storage bin on any conveyorsystem to be delivered to the processing section 16 near theprogrammable motion device 18.

The bins 14 may be provided as boxes, totes, containers or any othertype of device that may receive and hold an item. In furtherembodiments, the bins may be provided in uniform trays (to provideconsistency of spacing and processing) and may further include opencovers that may maintain the bin in an open position, and may furtherprovide consistency in processing through any of spacing, alignment, orlabeling.

For example, FIG. 5 shows an exploded view of a box tray assembly 130.As shown, the box 132 (e.g., a standard shipping sized cardboard box)may include bottom 131 and side edges 133 that are received by a topsurface 135 and inner sides 137 of a box tray 134. The box tray 134 mayinclude a recessed (protected) area in which a label or otheridentifying indicia 146 may be provided, as well as a wide and smoothcontact surface 151 that may be engaged by an urging or removalmechanism as discussed below.

As also shown in FIG. 5 , the box 132 may include top flaps 138 that,when opened as shown, are held open by inner surfaces 140 of the boxcover 136. The box cover 136 may also include a recessed (protected)area in which a label or other identifying indicia 145 may be provided.The box cover 136 also provides a defined rim opening 142, as well ascorner elements 144 that may assist in providing structural integrity ofthe assembly, and may assist in stacking un-used covers on one another.Un-used box trays may also be stacked on each other.

The box 132 is thus maintained securely within the box tray 134, and thebox cover 136 provides that the flaps 138 remain down along the outsideof the box permitting the interior of the box to be accessible throughthe opening 142 in the box cover 136. FIG. 6 shows a width side view ofthe box tray assembly 130 with the box 132 securely seated within thebox tray 134, and the box cover holding open the flaps 138 of the box132. The box tray assemblies may be used as any or both of the storagebins and destination bins in various embodiments of the presentinvention.

With reference to FIGS. 7A-7D, a box kicker 184 in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention may be suspended by and travel alonga track 186, and may include a rotatable arm 188 and a roller wheel 190at the end of the arm 188. With reference to FIGS. 7B-7D, when theroller wheel 190 contacts the kicker plate 151 (shown in FIG. 5 ) of abox tray assembly 120, the arm 188 continues to rotate, urging the boxtray assembly 180 from a first conveyor 182 to a second conveyor 180.Again, the roller wheel 190 is designed to contact the kicker plate 151of a box tray assembly 181 to push the box tray assembly 181 onto theconveyor 180. Such a system may be used to provide that boxes that areempty or finished being unloaded may be removed (e.g., from conveyor182), or that boxes that are full or finished being loaded may beremoved (e.g., from conveyor 182). The conveyors 180, 182 may also becoplanar, and the system may further include transition roller 183 tofacilitate movement of the box tray assembly 181, e.g., by beingactivated to pull the box tray over to the conveyor 180.

The conveyors 36 may each serve more than one row of storage bins. FIG.8 , for example, shows three retrieval conveyors 36 that serve two setsof two rows of storage bins. As shown at 46, each of the storage bins intwo of the rows may feed into one retrieval conveyor 36. If, forexample, the storage system serves four rows of storage bins by fivelevels of such rows, the system may receive the four rows in anarrangement as shown in FIG. 8 , and may provide output bin as shown inFIG. 9 . In particular, FIG. 9 shows at 44 a directional mapping of howstorage bins may be directed from the retrieval conveyors 36 toretrieval output conveyors 48 via conveyors and bin lifters.

With reference again to FIG. 1 , the retrieval output conveyors 42 cometogether into a pair of processing conveyors 48 that lead to theprogrammable motion device 18, one of which may provide an input to theprocessing area of the device 18, while the other may provide an outputto return a storage bin to the storage system. In addition to theprogrammable motion device 18, the processing system includes aprocessing perception unit 50 that is directed to look down into aselected storage unit. Due to the presence of a bin perception unit 52that detects the identifying indicia of a bin being processed, thesystem confirms the identity of the bin (and therefore the objects)being processed. Again, the storage system requested that the selectedstorage bin be retrieved and provided to the processing system, so theperception unit(s) 52 confirm that the correct bin is ready to beprocessed. The perception unit 50 is directed to look down into the binbeing processed, and the field of view, for example, may appeargenerally as shown at 54 in FIG. 11 .

An end effector 56 of the programmable motion device 18 grasps an objectin bin 14, and moves to deliver the object to a primary carriage 58 asshown in FIG. 10 . The primary carriage 58 then moves along an X-Yvertical frame provided by a horizontal section 57 and two verticalsections 59, to move the object to one of plurality of shuttle carriages60 (as further shown in FIGS. 15-21 ). The shuttle carriages facilitatemoving the object to a desired destination bin 22 by placing or droppingthe object into a carriage, that then shuttles the object to theselected destination bin 22.

The storage bin may then be returned to the plurality of storage bins atthe storage station, and may be returned anywhere among the bins as longas the system knows where the bin has been returned, and knows how eachof the bins may have been moved when the selected storage bin wastransferred to the conveyor 36. Again, the storage bins, for example,may be biased (e.g., by gravity) to stack against one of the ends ofeach row of bins.

FIG. 11 shows an image view 54 of the bin 14 from the perception unit50. The image view shows the bin 14 (e.g., on a conveyor), and the bin14 contains objects 78, 80, 82, 84 and 86. In the present embodiment,the objects are homogenous, and are intended for distribution todifferent distribution packages. Superimposed on the objects 78, 80, 82,84, 86 (for illustrative purposes) are anticipated grasp locations 79,81, 83 and 85 of the objects. Note that while candidate grasp locations79, 83 and 85 appear to be good grasp locations, grasp location 81 doesnot because its associated object is at least partially underneathanother object. The system may also not even try to yet identify a grasplocation for the object 84 because the object 84 is too obscured byother objects. Candidate grasp locations may be indicated using a 3Dmodel of the robot end effector placed in the location where the actualend effector would go to use as a grasp location as shown in FIG. 11 .Grasp locations may be considered good, for example, if they are closeto the center of mass of the object to provide greater stability duringgrasp and transport, and/or if they avoid places on an object such ascaps, seams etc. where a good vacuum seal might not be available.

If an object cannot be fully perceived by the detection system, theperception system considers the object to be two different objects, andmay propose more than one candidate grasps of such two differentobjects. If the system executes a grasp at either of these bad grasplocations, it will either fail to acquire the object due to a bad grasppoint where a vacuum seal will not occur, or will acquire the object ata grasp location that is very far from the center of mass of the objectand thereby induce a great deal of instability during any attemptedtransport. Each of these results is undesirable.

If a bad grasp location is experienced, the system may remember thatlocation for the associated object. By identifying good and bad grasplocations, a correlation is established between features in the 2D/3Dimages and the idea of good or bad grasp locations. Using this data andthese correlations as input to machine learning algorithms, the systemmay eventually learn, for each image presented to it, where to bestgrasp an object, and where to avoid grasping an object.

As shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, the perception system may also identifyportions of an object that are the most flat in the generation of goodgrasp location information. In particular, if an object includes atubular end and a flat end such as object 87, the system would identifythe more flat end as shown at 88 in FIG. 12B. Additionally, the systemmay select the area of an object where a UPC code appears, as such codesare often printed on a relatively flat portion of the object tofacilitate scanning of the barcode.

FIGS. 13A and 13B show that for each object 90, 92, the grasp selectionsystem may determine a direction that is normal to the selected flatportion of the object 90, 92. As shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, the roboticsystem will then direct the end effector 94 to approach each object 90,92 from the direction that is normal to the surface in order to betterfacilitate the generation of a good grasp on each object. By approachingeach object from a direction that is substantially normal to a surfaceof the object, the robotic system significantly improves the likelihoodof obtaining a good grasp of the object, particularly when a vacuum endeffector is employed.

The invention provides therefore in certain embodiments that graspoptimization may be based on determination of surface normal, i.e.,moving the end effector to be normal to the perceived surface of theobject (as opposed to vertical picks), and that such grasp points may bechosen using fiducial features as grasp points, such as picking on abarcode, given that barcodes are almost always applied to a flat spot onthe object.

With reference again to FIG. 10 , the primary carriage 58 moves (invertical and horizontal directions as shown at X, Y) a selected object(received from the end effector 56 of the programmable motion device 18)toward one of the shuttle carriages, where the object is then droppedinto the selected shuttle carriage 60. FIG. 15 further shows that eachof the plurality of shuttle carriages 60 is part of shuttle section 62that also includes a plurality of destination bins on conveyors 64 (thatmay be gravity fed biased toward an output end 66 of the destinationsystem 20). As further shown in FIG. 16 , each shuttle section 62 alsoincludes an output conveyor 68 onto which completed destination bins maybe moved for output to a further processing section or transport at theoutput end 66 of the destination system 20.

Each of the shuttle carriages 60 moves between two rows of destinationbins 22 along a track 72 as further shown in FIG. 17 . Each carriage 60may also be actuated to drop an object 70 into a desired destination bin22 (as shown in FIG. 18 ). The destination bins 22 may be provided inconveyors 64 (e.g., rollers or belt), and may be biased (for example bygravity) to urge all destination bins toward one end (for example, theend 66 as shown. When a destination bin 22 is selected for removal(e.g., because the bin is full or otherwise ready for furtherprocessing), the system will urge the completed bin onto an outputconveyor 68 to be brought to a further processing or shipment station.The conveyor 68 may also be biased (e.g., by gravity) to cause any binon the conveyor to be brought to the output end 66.

FIGS. 19A and 19B show a bin being urged from a row of the plurality ofdestination bins, onto the output conveyor 68 by the use of adisplacement mechanism 74 that is able to move along the row of binssuch that when a bin is selected, the displacement mechanism 74 engagesand pushes a bin onto the output conveyor 68. In certain embodiments,each of the locations at which a destination bin will be positioned mayinclude its own displacement mechanism. Following displacement of thebin 22 onto the conveyor 68, each of the destination bins may be urgedtogether, and the system will record the change in position of any ofthe bins that moved. This way, a new empty bin may be added to the end,and the system will record the correct location and identifiedprocessing particulars of each of the destination bins. This is shown inFIGS. 20 and 18 , whereby a bin 22 is removed and pushed onto theconveyor 68, and then the remaining bins are urged together while theremoved bin rolls toward an output location (see FIG. 21 ).

As noted above, each of the storage system 12 and destination 20 mayinterface directly, or via an adapter conveyor system, with vehiclessuch as tractor trailer vehicles. FIG. 22 , for example, shows (with therear doors removed for clarity) a trailer conveyance system 100 thatincludes stacked rows of bins 102. The bins 102 are the same as the bins14 and 22, each may be used for all purposes in the overall system. Thebins 102 are provided on roller bearing conveyors 104 (as more clearlyshown in FIG. 23 ) that are provided on shelves 106 within the trailer108. The shelves 106 may either be built into the trailer floor andinside walls, or may be provided as part of a structure that may be slidinto a trailer and then fastened to the floor and/or inside walls of thetrailer. The trailer may also provide a mechanism for pushing or pullingeach of the rows of bins 102 out of the trailer.

As discussed above, each of the shelves 106 may include perception units105 that perceive identifying indicia on the outside of each of the bins102 that uniquely identifies each bin, and by sequence of detections,knows the location of each bin within the trailer 108. Each trailertherefore has stored data regarding not only the contents of thetrailer, but also the order of the contents in the bins. Not only maythis facilitate the efficient processing of objects and bins atautomated storage, retrieval and processing systems in accordance withvarious embodiment of the present invention, but this provides valuableinformation regarding which tractor trailers should be routed to whichprocessing centers and when they may be most needed. Such a system alsoprovides that objects within a trailer are not randomly placed in atrailer, and do not need to be individually handled by a human worker tobe unloaded from the trailer. The unloading, in fact, may beaccomplished very quickly while also knowing the identities of all binsand all contents of the bins, saving an enormous amount of resources.

FIG. 24 diagrammatically shows a trailer 108 backed up to a storagesystem 12, and FIG. 25 diagrammatically shows a trailer 110 backed up toa destination system 20. As mentioned above, each of these interfacesmay include an adaptor conveyor system 120 as shown in FIGS. 26A and26B. The adaptor conveyor system 120 may include a plurality ofconveyors that change the vertical and horizontal distances betweendifferent conveyors. Through use of such an adaptor system 120, bins ofconveyors may be closely spaced in a tractor trailer, yet provide enoughwork room around the conveyors in each of the storage system and thedestination system. For example, FIG. 26A shows a top view of such anadaptor system 120 that may be used between a trailer 122 (e.g., atrailer 108 or 110) and a system 124 (e.g., a storage system 12 or adestination system 20). The adaptor system 120 includes conveyors 126that adjust the vertical and horizontal spacing between conveyors sothat the conveyor positions of the joining systems will readily connectwith one another.

FIG. 27 shows an overall system (without any adaptor conveyor systemsfor clarity) in which trailers 230 engage sortation systems 232 (e.g.,plural sortation system 12), that are in communication with processingsystems 234 (e.g., plural processing systems 16). The processing systems20 are in communication with distribution systems 236 (e.g., pluraldistribution systems 20), that may engage a plurality of trailers 238.Systems of the invention are highly scalable in terms of sorts-per-houras well as the number of storage bins and destination bins that may beavailable by adding additional systems and tractor trailer dock bays.Systems of the invention also significantly reduce trailer loading andunloading times, as well as reduce human power assistance in suchprocesses. Further, the systems are easily extensible for throughput(destinations) by adding more linear processing components, as well asstock SKUs by adding more tote storage components.

Systems of various embodiments therefore provide that trailers oftractor trailers may become integrated components of automated storage,retrieval and processing systems. Empty bins may initially be providedto the destination system (either in reverse direction from the outputend 66, or in further embodiments, by providing a mechanism, such as theend effector of the robot 18, by which empty bins may be provided fromthe sortation system to the destination system). As sortation bins atthe sortation system are emptied, the bins are provided to thedestination system. New bins of objects may be provided to the sortationsystem by supplier trailers 108, 130 as discussed above, and outputdestination bins may be queued up and prepared for delivery to atransportation trailer 110, 138.

Control of each of the overall system (including interfacing with thevehicles and controlling movement of the bins in the vehicles), may beprovided by the computer system 76 that is in communication with each ofthe conveyors and displacement mechanisms, carriages, and theprogrammable motion devices. The computer system 76 also contains theknowledge (continuously updated) of the location and identity of each ofthe storage bins, and contains the knowledge (also continuously updated)of the location and identity of each of the destination bins. Inaccordance with certain embodiments, each trailer may also includesensors that identify each bin as it is loaded into the trailer (similarto the perception units 34 in the storage system), so that each vehiclemay have recorded information regarding the contents and order of allbins in the vehicle.

When the trailer comes within a local area network of the system 10, thestored information regarding the contents and order of the bins 102 maybe immediately provided to the computer system 76. The system therefore,directs the movement of the vehicle bins, the storage bins and thedestination bins, and retrieves objects from the storage bins, anddistributes the objects to the destination bins in accordance with anoverall manifest that dictates which objects must be provided in whichdestination boxes for shipment, for example, to distribution or retaillocations. Once a full shipment of destination bins 22 are provided onoutput conveyors 68, an trailer with an empty trailer conveyance systemmay back up to the destination system and (again, optionally via anadaptor conveyor system), and be very quickly loaded with thedestination bins (that are also provided in a known order). The shipmentdestination may also take advantage of the fact that the contents andorder of the bins are fully known prior to shipment.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous modifications andvariations may be made to the above disclosed embodiments withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is: 1-31. (canceled)
 32. A processing system forprocessing objects, said processing system comprising: a storagecontainer system for receiving a plurality of storage containersproviding storage of a plurality of objects, said plurality of storagecontainers being provided in a plurality of storage container verticallevels, each storage container vertical level including a plurality ofrows of storage containers, each row of storage containers extendingfrom a first end of the storage container system to a second end of thestorage container system; a destination container system for receiving aplurality of objects for delivery to any of a plurality of destinationcontainers, said plurality of destination containers being provided in aplurality of destination container vertical levels, each destinationcontainer vertical level including a plurality of rows of destinationcontainers, each row of destination containers extending from a firstend of the destination container system to a second end of thedestination container system; a storage container conveyance system forproviding any of the plurality of storage containers from the storagecontainer system to an object processing station; and a programmablemotion device at the object processing station and being positioned forfacilitating moving objects from a selected storage container from thestorage container system to a destination container of the destinationcontainer system.
 33. The processing system as claimed in claim 32,wherein the storage container conveyance system further includes astorage container removal system for removing a selected storagecontainer from its associated row of storage containers.
 34. Theprocessing system as claimed in claim 33, wherein the storage containerremoval system includes at least one box kicker assembly for urging theselected storage container of the plurality of storage containers onto aremoval conveyor.
 35. The processing system as claimed in claim 33,wherein the storage container conveyance system further includes astorage container return system for returning the selected storagecontainer to the storage container system.
 36. The processing system asclaimed in claim 32, wherein the destination container system includes aplurality of reciprocating carriers, each of which is in communicationwith at least one row of destination containers.
 37. The processingsystem as claimed in claim 36, wherein at least a subset of theplurality of the reciprocating carriages are in communication with tworows of the destination containers, and each such reciprocating carriageis adapted to tip in either of two mutually opposing directions that aretransverse to a direction of travel of the respective reciprocatingcarriage.
 38. The processing system as claimed in claim 36, wherein thedestination container system further includes an X-Y carriage that is incommunication with first ends of each of the rows of destinationcontainers.
 39. The processing system as claimed in claim 38, whereinthe X-Y carriage is adapted to drop any of the contents of the X-Ycarriage into a selected reciprocating carriage.
 40. The processingsystem as claimed in claim 33, wherein the first end of the storagecontainer system and the second end of the storage container system aregenerally aligned with the first end of the destination container systemand the second end of the destination container system.
 41. Theprocessing system as claimed in claim 33, wherein the first end of thestorage container system is adapted to receive storage containers from aproviding vehicle.
 42. The processing system as claimed in claim 33,wherein the second end of the destination container system is adapted toprovide destination containers to a receiving vehicle.
 43. A processingsystem for processing objects, said processing system comprising: astorage container system for receiving a plurality of storage containersproviding storage of a plurality of objects, said plurality of storagecontainers being provided in a plurality of storage container verticallevels, each storage container vertical level including a plurality ofrows of storage containers, each row of storage containers extendingfrom a first end of the storage container system to a second end of thestorage container system; a destination container system for receiving aplurality of objects for delivery to any of a plurality of destinationcontainers, said plurality of destination containers being provided in aplurality of destination container vertical levels, each destinationcontainer vertical level including a plurality of rows of destinationcontainers, each row of destination containers extending from a firstend of the destination container system to a second end of thedestination container system; a processing section proximate the storagecontainer system and the destination container system for presenting aselected storage container from the storage container system on apresentation conveyor; and an object conveyance system in communicationwith the processing station for delivering an object from the selectedstorage container to a destination container of any of the plurality ofdestination containers provided in the plurality of destinationcontainer vertical levels, each of which includes the plurality of rowsof destination containers.
 44. The processing system as claimed in claim43, wherein the storage container conveyance system further includes astorage container removal system for removing a selected storagecontainer from its associated row of storage containers.
 45. Theprocessing system as claimed in claim 45, wherein the storage containerremoval system includes at least one box kicker assembly for urging theselected storage container of the plurality of storage containers onto aremoval conveyor.
 46. The processing system as claimed in claim 44,wherein the storage container conveyance system further includes astorage container return system for returning the selected storagecontainer to the storage container system.
 47. The processing system asclaimed in claim 43, wherein the destination container system includes aplurality of reciprocating carriers, each of which is in communicationwith at least one row of destination containers.
 48. The processingsystem as claimed in claim 47, wherein at least a subset of theplurality of the reciprocating carriages are in communication with tworows of the destination containers, and each such reciprocating carriageis adapted to tip in either of two mutually opposing directions that aretransverse to a direction of travel of the respective reciprocatingcarriage.
 49. The processing system as claimed in claim 43, wherein theX-Y carriage is in communication with first ends of each of the rows ofdestination containers.
 50. The processing system as claimed in claim49, wherein the X-Y carriage is adapted to drop any of the contents ofthe X-Y carriage into a selected reciprocating carriage.
 51. Theprocessing system as claimed in claim 43, wherein the first end of thestorage container system and the second end of the storage containersystem are generally aligned with the first end of the destinationcontainer system and the second end of the destination container system.52. The processing system as claimed in claim 43, wherein the first endof the storage container system is adapted to receive storage containersfrom a providing vehicle.
 53. The processing system as claimed in claim43, wherein the second end of the destination container system isadapted to provide destination containers to a receiving vehicle.
 54. Amethod of processing objects comprising: receiving in a storagecontainer system, a plurality of storage containers providing storage ofa plurality of objects, said plurality of storage containers beingprovided in a plurality of storage container vertical levels, eachstorage container vertical level including a plurality of rows ofstorage containers, each row of storage containers extending from afirst end of the storage container system to a second end of the storagecontainer system; receiving in a destination container system, aplurality of objects for delivery to any of a plurality of destinationcontainers, said plurality of destination containers being provided in aplurality of destination container vertical levels, each destinationcontainer vertical level including a plurality of rows of destinationcontainers, each row of destination containers extending from a firstend of the destination container system to a second end of thedestination container system; moving objects from a selected storagecontainer from the storage container system to a processing station atwhich selected objects are removed from one or more selected destinationcontainers of the destination container system; and moving the selectedobjects to any of the plurality of destination containers provided inthe plurality of destination container vertical levels, each of whichincludes the plurality of rows of destination containers.
 55. The methodas claimed in claim 54, wherein the method further includes removing aselected storage container from its associated row of storagecontainers, and delivering the selected storage container to aprogrammable motion device.
 56. The method as claimed in claim 55,wherein the method further includes returning the selected storagecontainer to the storage container system.
 57. The method as claimed inclaim 54, wherein the destination container system includes a pluralityof reciprocating carriers, each of which is in communication with atleast one row of destination containers.
 58. The method as claimed inclaim 57, wherein at least a subset of the plurality of thereciprocating carriages are in communication with two rows of thedestination containers, and each such reciprocating carriage is adaptedto tip in either of two mutually opposing directions that are transverseto a direction of travel of the respective reciprocating carriage. 59.The method as claimed in claim 54, wherein the destination containersystem further includes an X-Y carriage that is in communication withfirst ends of each of the rows of destination containers.
 60. The methodas claimed in claim 59, wherein the X-Y carriage is adapted to drop anyof the contents of the X-Y carriage into a selected reciprocatingcarriage.
 61. The method as claimed in claim 54, wherein the first endof the storage container system and the second end of the storagecontainer system are generally aligned with the first end of thedestination container system and the second end of the destinationcontainer system.
 62. The method as claimed in claim 54, wherein thefirst end of the storage container system is adapted to receive storagecontainers from a providing vehicle.
 63. The method as claimed in claim54, wherein the second end of the destination container system isadapted to provide destination containers to a receiving vehicle.